A message from the mighty Machine Head’s Robert Flynn… a new diary entry over at MachineHead1.com. “Hails and salutations fuckers! The release of our new record, “Through The Ashes Of Empires” (from here on out referred to as “TTAOE”) is less than a month away! The new, exclusive track, “Seasons Wither” is mixed, mastered and sounding absolutely incredible thanks to the honorable sir Colin Richardson… the response to it has been fantastic, I think you guys are gonna love it. Having turned out as well as it did, we chose to “promote” the song from bonus track status, to instead, adding it into the official song sequence as track 8, after “Vim” (bumping the songs that followed back one track number). And even though it was written and recorded a full six months after the original TTAOE sessions, I gotta say, it flows seamlessly into the album, adding an extra touch of speed and aggression to the record, and as a result, raises the bar set by the rest of the album. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Tour is lining up nicely. The best band I’ve ever heard from Alaska, 36 Crazyfists, have been added to the alcohol-fueled mayhem, and we’re damn glad to have them on board! This tour is gonna be fun. This tour is gonna be big. Make sure you make it out! It’s Machine Head, so that alone should compel you to sell your soul for a ticket, but to get Arch Enemy, God Forbid and 36CF too?! It may be time to hit the street corners and shake a lil’ somethin’ if you’re short on the cash-ola… there is no excuse to miss this tour. There’s also a rumor going around that we may be filming one of these U.S. shows for an upcoming MH DVD. Nothing is official yet, and there may not be enough time to make it happen, but if it does, the city it might happen in begins with a D, and ends with a troit, and falls on a Saturday night. The Head will be co-hosting MTV2’s Headbanger’s Ball April 23rd. Might air the very next day (Saturday the 24th), not sure. Super stoked about it though. I haven’t gotten the chance to watch HBB (don’t have MTV2), but I’ve heard Jamey is an awesome host, and would expect no less from a guy as down to earth and charismatic as he is. Our deepest condolences go out to him and the band. Starting to get a little of the pre-release jitters… a wacky combination of overwhelming excitement, skepticism, and downright insecurity. It’s normal. Got a lot of things going right with this one, but we’ve also got a few things going wrong. The most obvious of the wrong things is that the record is coming out 6 months after it’s been available to buy on import, and download. But hell, we’re used to working twice as hard as some bands have to, and don’t mind having to work for the things we earn. We believe in this record, and we know you do too… after all, there’s no better feeling than knowing you achieved something the old fashioned way… by earning it. So with that, we’d like to toss a little nugget of appreciation at those of you who bought our last 4 records. And especially to the good people over in Europe and the UK that made TTAOE such an ongoing success internationally. That is what allowed TTAOE the chance to be released over here in the states. And as I’m sure you all know, we only get this platform if the beast gets fed. No one is releasing our album because they think it’s a good idea to write 8 minute epics about death, or write songs that call your biological parents “cocksucker” and “whore”. Frankly, the spot we’re in right now is a pretty tough one, no doubt, but we’re counting on all of you, and all of your friends, and all of your friends’ friends… and all of your friends’ friends’ friends… to go out the week of release and make a statement, to appreciate this record, and the fact that you want to hear more like it, by feeding the beast. Because, in all honesty, that is what will keep this band going. With the current state of the industry, especially here in the states, as well as our fairly odd situation, a misfire in sales at this point in time could spell our doom, and we want no part’a that shit, no siree. So, if you love this band as much as we love playing to all of you, feel free to do your part to help spread the word. We’ll be launching an e-card here shortly that will have full clips of all of the original ten songs from TTAOE, so be sure to e-mail it to all your friends, and all of your friends’ friends, put a link to it in your signatures on message boards, let anyone that you know that may miss out on this record for whatever reason know about it. We’ll also be posting printable flyers shortly, one promoting the record, another promoting the tour with an area left open for you to fill in your local venue, show date, etc. and make copies from, so you’ll be able to download those, print some out and drop ’em off at your local record stores, venues, pass ’em out at shows, etc., should you wish. Those of you here in the states will be surprised by how many people will respond with no knowledge whatsoever of TTAOE’s existence… “Whoa, Machine Head has a new record coming out?! Killer!!” We’ve gotta get this word out, people… fast, and hard. On a semi-related note, I’d like to formally thank all of the people who stop me in the street or after shows and tell me their stories of struggling / overcoming, and how our music has helped them through tough times. It has had a more profound effect on us than you could possibly imagine, and I / we thank you for sharing your experiences with us. It has meant and will continue to mean a lot to us moving forward. I’d also like to take a minute to thank the folks at Roadrunner Records US that are working their asses off making this happen, especially Jonas Nachsin, the president of RR US and Cees Wessels, for taking the risk and having the faith to let us share our vision with the world. Also, thanks to our A&R man Monte Conner, for being the unwavering, unflinching, #1 supporter there, and eagle eye / ear behind many a detail. And thanks to everyone else there who goes unheralded, but who has made the release of our music possible, and helped put it in actual record stores: Matt Polen, Doug Keogh, Maria Gonzales, Jamie Roberts, Benjy S., Amy S., Kathy Merrit, Chris Mitsuka, Dave Rath, Harlan and far too many others to mention. We also want to thank all of you who work in those record stores and online music stores selling our records, and to the clerks who help steer kids toward some good listening. Your efforts are truly and sincerely appreciated. I, personally would like to thank our webmaster, and occasional editor to my often inane ramblings, for performing the all-important “stupid” check, and helping cover up my glaring misuse of comma’s, apostrophe’s, and periods. The one and only, P to tha muthafuckin’ D, Mike P. Last but not least, we’d like to thank the die hard fans, friends and supporters of Machine Head–the Head Cases. The ones who influence, pester, and coerce their friends into spending their hard-earned dough on a band who wants to change the dour face of music for the better. Those fans, friends and supporters that are in the streets, and on the internet, spreading the gospel of MH with the most powerful method known to man… word of mouth. Hails and salutations indeed.” -Flynn In other ‘Head news, those of you over in good ol’ Cali are in for a treat. Join Machine Head as they host a FREE listening party at The Pound, San Francisco on Friday, April 16th. Go out and be one of the first to hear the new record, “Through The Ashes Of Empires” in its entirety, including the new, US exclusive track, “Seasons Wither”. Zero magazine will be sponsoring the event, 92 KSJO will be presenting the event, the Jagermiester girls will be in attendance shelling out shots, as well as “brown eye” drink specials, AND there will be a Machine Head Karaoke contest, where drunken participants can compete to win a Grand Prize of all 6 Machine Head CD’s and the entire line of new TTAOE Merchandise. 2nd and 3rd prizes will also be available. Don’t miss out! Machine Head coming back to the UK for Download…